Indian badminton queen Saina Nehwal failed to rise and shine in her home events and bid adieu to Yonex Sunrise India Open after losing to Yui Hashimoto on Thursday, April 25, 2013.
This pre quarter-final tussle as staged at the local badminton arena of New Delhi and both contenders remained head-to-head for 62 minutes.
The game kept swinging between them from very first set to the last one as both shuttlers challenged each other while piling up final figures of 21-13, 12-21 and 20-22.
Yui Hashimoto, who was underrated earlier in this event, amazed every one by storming back in second set and then served the notice of her potential in the final game.
On the other hand, the hot favourite Saina looked bit off colour as she struggled against a lower ranked shuttler and finally crashed out of this prestigious tournament.
In the opening game, the higher ranked Indian player ruled the court in establishing rallies and gained an immediate advantage on the points table.
She relished full benefits of this lead and doubled her total in no time. Her unbeatable strategy helped her to pile up a mountainous figure of 11.
After the mid-game break, Saina injected more intensity in her attack and bagged many valuable points. She maintained a significant difference on the points table and won this set with 21-13 score.
However, it was not an easy road for her in the next game as the opposing shuttler showed a transformed character and brought the contest to right balance.
This time Yui Hashimoto did not repeat previous mistakes and played aggressive badminton from very first stroke.
At first, she mounted pressure by registering a favourable margin of 11 and then capitalised this psychological edge in latter part of the game. She maintained a convincing lead of nine points and won this crucial game with 21-12 margin.
The decider proved real test for both contenders as they were just one step away from quarter-final round. They displayed a mesmerising craft on court and kept the audience intact until final moments.
Finally, this nerve-racking contest ended when Yui Hashimoto placed a tight yet decisive total of 22-20.
